Maker’s Story
Born in Germany and raised in Portugal, Fabio Vogel graduated from Burg Giebichenstein with a Masters in Interior and Furniture Design (2016). Driven by how one interacts with things, Fabio loves to combine ideas with experiences and unconventional materials and textu- res. The aim is to design, transform and create functional and visually beautiful products.
Since 2015, Fabio works with various organizations and companies such as Aesop, COS, Andreas Murkudis and Bolia, producing his own studio work ranging from furniture to product design and accessories.
Since 2016 he has a lectureship in the field of furniture at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK) in Hildesheim. Since 2019 he has a lectureship in the field of basic teaching at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK) in Hildesheim.
“We make objects and interior. Our objects include furniture, accessories and contemporary collectible design pieces. We work with global brands or with private individuals on bespoke projects or on free projects.
The act of making is vital to us. We make the most of our work in our studio or with professionals in their field which became friends and understand our way of work and thinking.
The way of working depends on the project. It is never the same. We don ́t have a fixed method, this means a continuously process of learning and extensions of our skills. Experimenting and playing with materials are very important to us. This often leads to untouched ideas.
For us the border between art and design is like a gradient. Both can be found in our work.”
105 ltr forms
The pieces are formed using a combination of methodologies, utilizing fireproof textiles to shape and impact the end result.
In the approach to creating the pieces, Vogel Studio allows the concept of ‘fire-as-element’ to direct this design process. In crafting pieces from hand- blown glass, the contrasting relationship between the destructive power of fire and its creative strength is an ever present reality.
The pieces are shaped using a fireproof fabric mould, the effect of which is clearly visible in their patterned exterior where indentations and
stitches punctuate the face of the glass. The project combines the smooth, elegant aesthetic of the glass with a more traditional, time-worn visual of woven cloth. While outer seams may appear to hold the forms together, the effect concludes at the neck of the piece where fabric gives way to polished glass.
“The idea of creating objects out of fabric covers, shows, what is possible if you combine handcrafts with new technology. The base of this work has always been the experimental approach. The subject of the project was to create something new, using the power of
the element fire as a designer – with all its destroying but also creative strength. The experiments aimed at applying fireproof textiles
to other areas of use. The work does not only show the development of new production technologies but also points out another important aspect for successful innovation processes: allowing blurs. A further essential characteristic of this work is coincidence. When manufacturing objects made of textiles, you need to face constant changes. Every object is a unique copy. Even if the pieces are sewed accurately, they will turn out differently, due to temperature and size. You can can only influence deformation to a certain degree, as the process implies variance.”
Every glass object is blown by hand in Sweden, Denmark or Germany and deformed by the designer Fabio Vogel. The glass objects are always one of its kind.
Images and production film courtesy of Vogel Studio.
